NCGA urges to uphold USMCA, warns of corn export losses if it is not renewed

The National Corn Growers Association advocates for upholding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and protecting 1.8 billion bushels of corn demand each year in the form of bulk corn, corn for ethanol, and the corn equivalent of meat.

"The USMCA is important to my operation and the US farmer, now let me tell you why, annually it not only accounts for 60 billion dollars in US ag exports, and 1.5 billion dollars in ethanol to Canada, it has also created 13 million US jobs and has been credited for a 10.7 billion dollar increase in ag exports to Mexico," Jon Miller, NCGA Corn Board member and farmer from central Ohio, said.

On June 10 US President Donald Trump said he "is not looking to renew" the USMCA and that the US "does not need anything that Canada has and anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have". Alternatively, if the three countries do not reach a deal by July 1, the USMCA could shift to ongoing annual reviews until 2036, unless otherwise decided.

The NCGA said in a statement on June 11 that since USMCA took effect in 2020, it "has allowed for strong growth in US exports. Mexico and Canada now represent $60 billion — more than a third — of all US food and agricultural exports," adding that specifically for corn, exports to those countries have increased by 102%, reaching over $6.2 billion.

"If USMCA is not renewed, American corn farmers risk losing this growth and seeing these numbers drop to pre-agreement levels," said the statement.

Nancy Martinez, NCGA director of public policy, trade, and biotechnology, said that USCMA provides stable, reliable market access to our biggest customers at a time when US needs it most.

Platts, assessed on June 11 the outright price for US corn June shipments to New Orleans in the incoterm CIF at $193.20/mt and for July shipments at $196.75/mt. And FOB Gulf for August was assessed at $203.54/mt.

Platts is part of S&P Global Energy.